Fine Knives Still Made in Maniago, Italy

Maniago is located in the northeastern part of the country, near the Austrian border. Since Medieval times, this area has been involved in, and well known for, the blade making craft.

Knifemaking in Italy, Germany, England, Japan and even the United States was usually centered in one area of the country. In Italy, of course, it was Maniago. In Germany, it was Solingen, in England, Sheffield, in Japan, Seki City and in the United States it was in the Northeast, primarily in New York and Pennsylvania. These centers developed because of the availability of water for power and materials to create the steel.

In the recent past, we have seen a decline in quality knife production in England, Germany, the United States and most recently in Japan. In Sheffield, the industry has been gone for a long time. Some of these early companies. making quality knives, remain in Germany, Japan and the U.S., but they are few. Many have succumbed to the pressure to make cheaper knives which has resulted in the move of a tremendous amount of knife production first to Taiwan and then to China. Only in Maniago has the industry, in the original area of production, found a way to change with the development of new technology. The companies in Maniago that we work with, Fox, Maserin, Viper and Lion Steel, are still owned by members of the families which started them. The next generation, in most cases, has remained in the company and continue to move it forward. Knives from these companies can be found at this location.

A number of years ago, top quality cutlers and suppliers of knife parts in Maniago organized a cutlers' consortium of fifty or so member companies to guarantee the production of top quality cutting tools in their area that compare favorably to most current handmade knives. They established a mark that guarantees the customer that high level of quality in materials and workmanship. As proof of that quality, they designed the Maniago Quality logo (an M inside a Q). Only those manufacturers certified by the Maniago cutlers' consortium may use this mark.

In addition to the consortium, the industry there has created the Museum of Knives and Metalwork that is dedicated to this craft, and have found ways to encourage young people to stay in the area and continue in the industry.